Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, was named winner of the ‘Nationalisation Initiative of the Year’ award at the Middle East HR Excellence Awards 2015.

The award was presented during a gala reception
held in Dubai, attended by senior professionals from across the Middle East HR
sector. The airline was also shortlisted in two other categories, including HR
Team of the Year and Innovation in Executive & Leadership Development.

The Middle East
HR Excellence Awards recognise the outstanding achievements of individuals, teams
and organisations that have contributed to the development of the HR profession
in the region. The awards showcase best practice in HR and talent management in
the Middle East, and honour HR professionals in the public and private sectors
for their contributions in creating a high-performing workforce.

Ray Gammell,
Etihad Airways’ Chief People and Performance Officer, said: “It’s an honour to
be recognised by the Middle East HR Excellence Awards. Our People and
Performance team of more than 300 professionals has worked exceptionally hard
this year, and I’m delighted to see the efforts of the team acknowledged by our
peers in the human capital sector.

“We continue to
invest in developing UAE nationals into future aviation leaders through our
highly successful training, business exchange and educational opportunities,
which is our top priority. This year alone we welcomed more than 1,000 UAE
national employees, and we are delighted to be appreciated for the way in which
we source and develop our local workforce.

“UAE nationals are now ranked the number one
nationality group within the airline, as well as amongst employees at manager
level, executive level and within the pilot community.”

More than 2,700 Emiratis are
employed by the airline across a range of positions, within the UAE and in 45
cities in 25 countries. Under plans to accelerate its employment of UAE
nationals over the next five years, Etihad Airways is expected to recruit more
than 6,000 UAE nationals by 2020.

As one of the fastest growing airlines in
the world, Etihad Airways has over 25,000 employees worldwide and prides itself
on offering exciting opportunities for personal development and internal progression
to its workforce, through a culture of performance, recognition and reward.